Tag: Ireland

This is my last post as I am now home in Ohio! It’s weird being home and not being able to wake up and walk to Trinity, but after four months it’s great to see friends and family again. Though, I did prefer Dublin’s winter weather to Ohio’s. The snow was a major plus but the temperature could be better.

To anyone thinking of going abroad, after my experience, I would highly encourage it. Exchanging is way more than seeing sites or mastering a language, but those are great pluses. It’s the friends you make and the once in a lifetime experience that you will remember your whole life. Since I grew up in Ohio and have lived here my whole life, it’s an amazing feeling to know I have friends not only in Ireland but spread across the world. It also boosts your confidence in your ability to travel and adapt to new situations. Think about it. If you can survive in a foreign country, entering a new company culture will be nothing even if it’s across the pond. Personally, I would love to work abroad one day, but always felt like that was a huge daunting step. Now that I have lived abroad I know how it feels, how the adjustment period goes and that it wouldn’t be as daunting as I thought.

One of the biggest highlights of my exchange was getting to go to a Gaelic football game at Croke Park, the main stadium that all finals are played in. I have grown up seeing these games and the stadium, but going to a game as a local was amazing. I’m sadly still not 100% sure of the rules but got to experience something that I only could in Dublin, Ireland. Even the less glamorous parts, like getting there was exciting as I knew the bus system and the city well enough to do it without help.

One big piece of advice I would give to anyone is to stay organized! It can get overwhelming during the application process and while abroad. If you apply to Trinity the process is slow, so don’t panic if it takes longer than others. Other than that don’t forget to explore outside of the city your in and have so much fun.

Packing you life in a few suitcase it tough, but Grainne Hutchinson, attending Trinity College on the Student Exchange Program, share some tips with you as she packs up her life in Ireland.

As my time in Ireland wraps up I thought I would give helpful tips on how to pack your life up when your time abroad has come to an end. It’s a tedious process and a kind of sad experience, but a happy good sad. I also strangely love to pack so I know a few tips.

One major tip I would give is regulating what you buy abroad! Make sure to keep in mind what you buy either has to fit in your suitcase or get left behind. Bringing an extra bag so that you have extra room on the way back is a great way to accommodate all the purchases you will make abroad. Because have no doubt you will be acquiring souvenirs no matter how hard you try. You’re going to want your exchange school’s attire, aren’t you?

Another tip is to pack early and slowly at the end of your time abroad. You have a lot of stuff so packing the morning of your flight or even the night before is not a good idea. Maybe start packing the week before and focus on all your souvenirs and stuff you won’t need in the next week. Also start gathering stuff you don’t think will make the cut home; if you have time, you can donate them to charity shops like Oxfam, basically the British version of Goodwill. All the kitchen stuff and bedding you will buy can be donated to charity shops or left for the next students who go abroad.

This is also a great time to narrow down your wardrobe, especially if you need room or weight in your suitcase. Keep in mind if you didn’t wear it while your abroad and have a limited wardrobe you probably won’t wear it at home. When packing to leave the U.S., bringing things that you plan to donate at the end will help with the room in the suitcase at the end.

My room all packed up.

Other great packing tips include rolling your clothes instead of folding them; witch helps with space and wrinkles. Putting socks in shoes to save space in your suitcase, especially if you’re putting them in your carry-on. Wear your bulkiest shoes on the plane; you can always take them off as well as your bulkiest jacket. That’s all for now!

You might know how to navigate the end of semesters at OSU, but do you know how to in Trinity College, Ireland? Grainne Hutchinson shares her advice in navigating Trinity’s exams and end of semester as she studies on the Student Exchange Program.

As the weeks are narrowing down, I thought I would give some helpful info on the last days of being abroad.

First the last weeks get a bit crazy. Trinity usually has their exams at the end of the school year, but as an exchange student, you will have papers in their place as you either won’t be there for them or have missed some of the class. I would completely recommend making plans with your new friends to meet and say goodbye before you hit your last week as you might get to stressed with packing and papers and run out of time, as near the end, it fly’s by.

I would also ask your teachers how papers are required to be turned in, most often in Trinity a hard copy of papers are turned in to the department office with a cover sheet assigned by the department. If you’re leaving somewhat early, I would check with the professor to make sure you will be in the country to do that. If not don’t worry, they can also be uploaded on Blackboard, Trinity’s version of Carmen. Also as it’s the end of the year, the library is always crowded and any textbooks you might need will probably be rented out.

Ran my fastest 5K in Ireland! Thanks to research into what 5K where available.

Upon reflection, the big thing I would tell people is If your thinking of going abroad I would start a checklist of the places you want to see and things you want to do before you leave. At the very least I would do some research into what there is to do. This ensures that you don’t get to your last week and find some incredible things you didn’t know existed. I would highly recommend doing this with weekend trips as well, as you are limited on time, you want to make sure you do all the things you want to.

As Grainne Hutchinson studies in Ireland on the Student Exchange Program, she enjoys her involvement with the University Philological Society. From seeing the first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, and talking about Brexit and the affect on Ireland, she shares her experience of the wonderful events held at Trinity College.

I know I have mentioned the great things you can do when you join societies, but I had the awesome opportunity through the University Philological Society to see the first Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon speak, and I feel like I should stress it again. The Hist (College Historical Society) and the Phil (University Philosophical Society) are both debating societies within Trinity, and I highly recommend joining one as they host some great speakers every term.

Nicola Sturgeon was being presented an honorary membership in the society and answered questions first from the head of the Phil and then from the audience. She was, of course, asked about Scottish Independence, as there was a referendum in September of 2014 where the Scottish people voted to decide if Scotland would remain part of the United Kingdom or become an independent country. She gave her opinion that she would love to see Scotland as an independent country and she also said she feels it could happen in her lifetime.

She was then asked how the first ministers of Scotland felt about Brexit. For anyone who doesn’t know Brexit is, it was another referendum that took place in the United Kingdom asking the people to vote on whether they want to remain the European Union (EU). They voted to leave, but the logistics for how and when they will leave has yet to be decided. She expressed her opinion that she would like to see the parliaments of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales have a say in the logistics of the departure from the EU. She also stated when asked if she thinks Brexit will lead to another referendum in Scotland, and she said that she is aware that the vote in Scotland was in favor of staying in the EU and doesn’t want the people of Scotland to be forced into something they don’t want, but she is also aware that more people may want to stay in the UK than in EU.

Before I came to Ireland I didn’t now what Brexit would affect, but through discussions in class, my visit to the dial and Nicola Sturgeon I have learned a lot. As the logistics are still being worked out, no one knows what it will affect. There are many factors that will need to be worked out between the EU and the UK, so everyone is waiting on the UK government to decide a few things. In Irish opinion, there are opportunities and fears surrounding Brexit. One huge opportunity for the economy is that business that needs headquarters in the EU and is currently headquartered the UK may move to Ireland to stay in the EU as it is the only other English speaking nation. A big fear is that, as immigration was a big issue in the discussion leading up to the referendum, Irish citizens might have a harder time getting visas and working in the UK, as before there was freedom of movement and they didn’t need a visa. There is also concern over if current EU citizens that are living in the UK will be expected to apply for visas to stay.

Mostly it’s a waiting game to see what Brexit will do, but Ireland will be just affected as the UK when it does happen. It’s a bit scary and anxious to think about as there is no way to really prepare. We will just have to wait and see what happens. I still don’t know enough about international relations and trade to predict how it will affect the US but I imagine there will be ripples that will reach us even across the pond.

Want to know some travel tips to Dublin, Ireland and London, UK? Grainne Hutchinson, studying on the Student Exchange Program to Trinity College-Ireland, shares her favorite places in these cities!

Over the week of Thanksgiving, my brother came to visit me in Ireland as he could take time off and didn’t have to pay for accommodation. We then took two days and flew over to London, my favorite city in the world! Not that Dublin isn’t great but London has so much history and culture and a little bit of everything for everyone. So I thought I would dedicate this post to two things, the main things to do if you ever visit Dublin and all the great things there are to experience in London if you visit there as well. Even if you study someplace else in Europe, I would highly encourage you to visit these magnificent cities.

The first thing is a list of thing to do in Dublin and why. Defiantly look into the Guinness Storehouse Tour, it’s a bit touristy but very informative. Plus where you end your tour has a great areal view of Dublin that’s perfect for pictures. There is also the Viking Splash tour, which I highly recommend. It takes you through the city and gives you great insights into Dublin’s history and culture. But it’s not just any tour you’re in an old “duck,” a car that can also be a boat, and your tour guide is a Viking as are you (complete with a hat). If you’re ever walking through the streets of Dublin and a weird looking car full of people wearing Viking hat’s roar at you, you’ve encountered the Viking Splash tour. The last thing you have to see is, of course, Trinity College Dublin! It is one of the most beautiful campuses around and is home to the Book of Kells and the long room.

Now on to London! There are so many great things to do in London, and it may depend on your time and what kind of things you like to do. Some of the greatest museums are in London; my favorite is the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). The V&A is basically just a giant collection of things from jewelry to keys. The British Museum is better if you’re only in the city for a few days, it has the Rosetta Stone, parathion marbles, and an Easter Island statue among many other things. Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and the London Eye are all kinds of tourist but in my opinion not worth missing. The changing of the guard in front of Buckingham Palace can be missed, though; it’s also impossible to see with all the tourists and it takes about an hour. One last thing I would suggest is the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. It’s a tall ship that has been transformed into a museum, so you can go inside and all through the ship. It is on land now, but it is still impressive, though I love boats.

There are a lot more great things to do in Dublin and London, but these are the ones you can do if you are pressed for time and things average tourists don’t think of.

Grainne Hutchinson shares her observations as she attends Trinity College’s first ever women’s leadership conference while on the Student Exchange Program in Ireland. The event consisted of professionals from Microsoft, CPL Resources, UK Investment Bank, J.P. Morgan, and former McKinsey & Co Consultant.

This week I got the amazing opportunity to attended Trinity College Dublin’s first ever women’s leadership conference. The Stronger together, women in business conference featured many different women speakers as well as a Q&A panel with various women and men in leadership roles throughout business and government. The Keynote speaker was Brenda Trenowden, who is the global chair of the 30% club. The 30% club’s primary purpose is to help achieve the goal of women holding at least 30% of leadership positions throughout companies. She started by explaining as alumni of Trinity she saw her graduating law class of about 70% female, and when she moved on in her career to assisting with her law companies recruitment of graduates, she saw them take in around 70% as well. But then when you look at leadership level the number extremely drops off. She went on to explain that in her opinion there are many contributing factors as to why this happens and that by discussing this matter and the reasons, we can come to an answer on how to overcome them. I personally was shocked to hear that with 70% of graduates being women that only around 10 to 20% make it to the leadership level.

http://tba.ie/women-business-stronger-together-conference/

Following the Keynote speech was a panel discussion moderated by Dearbhail McDonald, the Group Business Editor for the Irish Independent (A Newspaper in Ireland). The panel consisted of Catharina Hallahan, Managing Director of Microsoft, Anne Heraty, CEO and Co-Founder, CPL Resources, Ina De, Co-Head of UK Investment Bank, J.P. Morgan, Stephan Donnelly, Independent TD and former McKinsey & Co Consultant. The panelists first answered questions put to them by the moderator and then took questions from the audience.

From this experience, I found that the gender division in the workplace is different in the UK and Ireland than in the US. For example, there is a stronger feeling here that women should be the primary carers of children, and a larger amount of women leave the workplace after having children. Ina De shared her story of when she was expecting her first child and had concerns over working after he was born. She explained that she felt that working would disadvantage her son, but in hindsight, she said she thinks he was more advantaged with her working. In her view, it gave him perception that a woman working were the normal thing to do. She also said that she feels more access to childcare will help women stay in the workforce after having children. I personally agree with her that there is a perception that woman should stay home after a baby’s born and it was interesting to learn that she thought her decision to go back to work actually helped her son more than if she had stayed home with him.

The conference was a great way to learn what challenges and differences there are in the Irish business world. In this case, the problems were very similar but that helped me to see a new view on old problems. I would highly encourage fellow students who exchange to participate in these events. They are an excellent way to get an open dialog about the business community and have any questions you have answered.

Have you ever hear of Reading Week? Grainne Hutchinson explains this system at Trinity College, as she studies on the Student Exchange Program in Ireland. Also sharing her tips and advice on how to take good use of the Reading Week.

One surprising difference between the Irish and the American University systems is the Reading week. Essentially every semester half way through there is a week where no classes take place. Students are encouraged to “re-read” through the class notes and readings but mainly the week is a chance to decompress from school. I know we have Thanksgiving break and fall break but there not quite the same as a reading week. I strongly prefer the reading week style of Semester but with Thanksgiving as late in the year as it is I can’t see the U.S. ever switching over. That being said, allow me to plead my case for reading week.

So this is kind of implied, but it’s a full week, basically spring break in fall and spring! Two days for fall break and three for Thanksgiving are short and hard to fit relaxing things into like travel and family. In a way, its not enough time to shut your brain off school mode as lots of teachers still gives assignments over break. A week, though, as with Spring break, is plenty of time to travel home, with friends or just have time to do other activities. It also gives time to distress, and returns to school with the same motivated mindset may students lose half way through the semester. It is kind of a weird system we have if you think about it, why do we only get a week in the Spring? Are we not just as stressed in the Fall?

Another point in its favor is the fact that it splits the year up into four equal parts. I have noticed, in my classes at least, that teachers use them as mini-semesters and they sort of wrap up what you should know and what you will be learning next. The week gives students a time to make sure they don’t fall behind or can catch up if they did fall behind. If you feel you don’t understand something its hard to dedicate time to it if you still need to be learning something new every week. A stop in course work can give them that time for further study, to be better prepared for the next half of the class.

I used my reading week as a time to travel (Went to Norway!) and work on schoolwork (Finished an essay!). A lot of the students here balance their time throughout the reading week, unlike a lot of people in the US including me. I think with the breaks so evenly spaced the year doesn’t feel as confining as our system, so students don’t feel the pressure to relax. I know personally I always want to get away on Spring break, as there seems to be pressure to make it count and by the time is comes around its much needed. Those are just my thoughts on the systems differences, though, and I would highly encourage students who exchange to Trinity to review class work at least once as teachers expect you to have a better grasp on the knowledge after the break and be prepared to build off what you learned.

Join Grainne Hutchinson as she explores the political world of Ireland while on the Student Exchange Program. Hear what she has experienced visiting the Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament, and her observations on how networking is done in Ireland. She also shares some advice on how to get involved at Trinity!

Dia dhuit! (Hello!)

This week I got the exciting and rare experience to visit the Dáil Éireann! The Dáil Éireann is the lower house of the Irish parliament. The Houses of Oireachtas, the Irish Congress, has two houses the Dáil Éireann (House of Deputies) and the Seanad Éireann (Senate). The two houses function somewhat the same as their American counterparts. One huge difference, though, would be that instead of the Prime Minister of Ireland being directly elected as our president is, he is nominated by the Dáil Éireann and to stay in power must keep the majority support of the Dáil. That’s a big difference between the US and is made even clearer to me as this is an election year. It would be like if we voted in our state representatives and then they chose the president out of all the candidates the parties put forth.

Membership to the Dáil works a lot like membership to the House of Representatives in the US. The “Teachta Dála”, in English “deputies to the Dáil” usually just called TD’s, are elected in by their constituency. The constituencies are determined by population, and there must be a member the represents every 20,000 to 30,000 people. At the current moment there 158 members and 40 constituencies.

I was invited as part of a Society I joined at Trinity, as it was a political society it’s going to remain anonymous. We were addressed by current TD’s and given a short speech on Brexit, as it will affect Ireland quite a bit as well. Then we were shown one of the two bars that are located inside the Dáil (because it’s Ireland) and a had a drink while we mingled with other students and current TD’s. Networking in Ireland is about the same as in the US. In this case, there were about three TD and 30+ students but every TD tried to say hello to each of the students there while I find in the states they usually let the students come to them.

I would strongly recommend students going abroad to join societies and make the most out of them! They can help you make friends as well as give you once in a lifetime opportunity. Definitely join the ones you have an interest, but consider some country specific groups as well. For a trinity example, there are always sports clubs to join but do consider clubs like The Hist or the College Historical Society. The Hist which I joined is mainly a debating society that everyone is welcome to, whether you debate or not. They are one of the oldest societies and host famous guests from time to time. This experience might be the only time in your life you can experience the culture like a local so join clubs that focus on local things like hiking or food. Or if you’re still feeling adventurous after agreeing to live in a foreign country for 4 months join a sports club you never could back home, in Trinity’s case Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) clubs like Gaelic football and Hurling. I would also suggest looking at the international student club! At Trinity, the club arranges travel weekends all around Ireland and connects you to full-time students from your home country that you can go to for advice or questions. Thats all for this time!

As Grace Hutchinson continues her studies at Trinity College Dublin on the Student Exchange Program, she explores more of the culture and Island of Ireland. Hear about the Dublin Zoo to the Blarney Stone to the Ladies Gaelic Football All Ireland game, as well as her observations on Irish education.

Dia dhuit! (Hello) My first few weeks at Trinity have been great, though it is only the third week of class, so the course work is still on the small side. The rain has reduced to once a week, which makes it feel more like spring than fall. All the students have returned to campus, and the library is always packed with people as the course work over here is very dependent on readings. That’s not the only difference, as the courses here are also almost all graded on one essay or test at the end of the year, which makes me slightly terrified. As I am only here for one semester I won’t be here for the end of year exams, so my teachers come up with separate assignments, usually essays, to be graded on at the end of the semester. The Irish students I have talked to have advised me to keep the readings and familiarize myself with the Library for the essays.

School here is pretty similar in other aspects. For example, though Trinity is smaller than OSU there are still recitations or tutorials as there called here were TA’s or assistant professors give deeper insights and allows student discussion. I expected fewer people classes, especially coming from OSU, but it’s great that there are still non-lecture environments where you get to voice your questions. My advice to students coming to Trinity for exchange would be to pick classes you have a genuine interest in. As one assignment will determine your grade, and it usually involves a lot of outside research as well as applying what you learned in lecture, it can be frustrating and easy to procrastinate if you’re not interested in the subject.

On the less academic side of things, I took a trip to the Dublin Zoo! It was neat to see, but for someone who has grown up in Columbus with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and even volunteered there, it was a bit smaller than what I am used too. They did have a lot of different animals I never thought I would see on the small island of Ireland, including seven giraffes. Dublin is a City with limited space, but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the smaller amount of space the animals had in their enclosures. It also made me realize and appreciate how great the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is!

Taken at the Dublin Zoo by the entrance to remind people where they are incase they forgot.

I also took a trip down to Cork (a city on the west coast of Ireland) and of course Blarney Castle where, for those who don’t know, is the home of the Blarney Stone. After climbing a very scary tight spiral staircase my friends and I admired the view of the many gardens, and after some peer pressure, I decided that if I climbed all those steps with a cold, I might as well kiss the Blarney Stone. By doing this, it is said that you will receive the gift of better speech. It’s not a graceful process to do this. You have to lay down on your back and stretch out over a hole that you can see the ground through and kiss the stone. I don’t feel the effects of the stone now, but I will keep you guys updated. I do know that who ever kissed it after me might, unfortunately, receive the gift of my cold.

I also got the great experience of attending the Ladies Gaelic Football All Ireland (Finals). It took place in Croke Park where they host all All Ireland for all Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ) sports (i.e. Gaelic Football, Hurling). The game of Gaelic Football is a weird mixture of Soccer, Rugby a bit of basketball and American Football. The All Ireland was between Dublin and Cork, as every county in Ireland has a team who play a sort of bracket to make to the All Ireland. Being in Dublin, there was a great turnout for them, but surprisingly there were just as many people who were there supporting Cork, who won out in the end. The President of Ireland, Micheal Higgens, even attended the match and shook each player’s hand before the match.

The Ladies All Ireland in Croke Park.

That’s all I have done so far, but don’t worry there are more adventures to come! I am also starting to get a bit homesick, missing my kittens. I’m looking forward to my classes and other travel excursions, hopefully, during the reading week when we don’t have classes! See you all real soon and love from Ireland! Sláinte! (cheers)

As Grace Hutchinson starts her semester at Trinity College in Ireland, she shares her first adventures landing on the Irish island. From starting at her new school to traveling to amazing sites in Ireland.

For Fall Semester 2016 I decided to embark on the adventure on the Student Exchange Program. I chose Trinity College Dublin, located not surprisingly in Dublin, Ireland. I should tell you this is not my first visit to Ireland so I didn’t experience the usual culture shock (i.e. outlets must be switched on for them to work and driving on the other side of the road.) I actually have dual citizenship with the U.S. and Ireland as my father moved to the states for work, were in an adorable fashion he meet my mom. I have traveled to Ireland throughout my life visiting family, but I really wanted the chance to experience what normal long-term everyday life was like. You never really see the whole story of a city’s when you are a tourist. I was kind of shocked to find that a few students also studying abroad here were in the same situation as me, and had similar stories of visiting family throughout the years.

Croke Park: the national stadium where all GAA finals are or the All Irelands. GAA sports include Hurling and Gaelic football.

When I got my acceptance letter I started to worry about the logistics of finding classes and how to register for them, knowing that the European school system would be very different from what I am used to at OSU. How would I get to campus and navigate the paper-based registration system? I was directed by past exchange students to take a look at the Semester Startup Program (SSP) and would recommend it for anyone thinking of exchanging to Trinity. The SSP program helps international students not only get a good intro to Trinity, before the mass of students arrive, but also includes lectures that cover Ireland’s history, culture, and global connections. I have learned some things that even my dad didn’t know. For example, did you know that Ireland was one of the only countries in Europe to consistently have gender equal migration? We also visited some amazing sights including Croke Park, Trim castle and the Hill of Tara. Those are all must see places for anyone venturing to Ireland. (Croke Park: the national stadium where all GAA finals are or the All Irelands. GAA sports include Hurling and Gaelic football.)

Some of the work you will have to do in SSP is the graded assignments, three papers to be exact, as well as lectures every day. They haven’t been too overwhelming and I have to admit they have been a great introductory to U.K. spelling and Trinity’s Citation Policy as well as prepare me for school to start. My papers so far have been on W.B. Yeats and Robert Emmet, two people I really didn’t know about until this class. But don’t worry there has been plenty of time to explore and we have already wondered outside Dublin to the seaside town of Dalkey. We saw castles and boats but no dolphins. It also was not raining for our day of exploration which in Ireland is a very rare thing indeed.

Taught my new friends O-H-I-O, taken in the small town of Dalkey right outside Dublin

When I first saw Trinity as a kid I though it looked like a castle, I really couldn’t imagine it as a school. Now that I am here and classes are about to start I still can’t see how people stay focused when the campus is so pretty and historical. Trinity is a lot smaller than OSU and it is completely fenced in with about three ways in, so I am really looking forward to the day when I learn how to avoid the many tourists that come to Trinity daily. I must now accidently be in so many trip photos. As of now, though, I’m currently working on my final paper for SSP and trying not to worry about signing up for classes, which I can’t do until the week before they start.